Apparatus for processing sheet material



March 24, 1942. E. w. WOLF ET AL APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 21, 1940 ATTORNEY.

ELBERT A.CORBIN JR. ELLWOOD W WOLF INVENTORS Patented Mar. 24, 1942 APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SHEET MATERIAL Ellwood W. Wolf, Philadelphia, and Elbert A.

Corbin, Jr., Lansdowne, Pa., assignors of onethird to B. C. B. Industries, a corporation of Delaware Application September 21, 1940, Serial No. 357,676

1 Claim.

There is now a great and growing demand for sheet material having a glossy, water-proof and lustrous surface, such material being of paper, fabric, composition, or the like, and has many uses such as menus, book covers, table tops, display cards, merchandise labels, etc.

Our invention relates to an improvement in an apparatus for processing such sheet material to impart thereto a very high grade gloss in an inexpensive and efficient manner.

Our invention further relates to an apparatus whereby continuous and substantially automatic operation is attained whether the sheet material being treated consists of a continuous roll or of separate pieces.

Our novel apparatus will be more clearly understood from the following specification and the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 represents, diagrammatically and in cross-section, the device embodying our invention by means of which our invention is carried out, the same being shown as'adapted to the treatment of piece work.

Fig. 2 represents a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the apparatus used for carrying out our invention as applied toa continuous roll of the material to be treated.

Referring to the drawing in which like reference characters indicate like parts, 4 designates a platform which is reached by the steps 6. 'On the platform 4 is mounted a work table 8 from which the pieces l of sheet material to be treated are fed between the drum l2 and the rollers M and l6. l8 designates a trough containing the coating composition 20 and it will be seen that the roller [5 clips into the coating 20 so as to coat the under surface of the sheet material l0 during its passage between the roller l6 and the drum 12. The coating apparatus thus far described and diagrammatically illustrated may be of any satisfactory make now available conveyor 20 is of a mesh or foraminous structure and travels on the rollers 22 and over the vacuum, apertured transfer roller 24. The drying chamber 26 is heated by any suitable means 21. After leaving the vacuum roller 24, the conveyor 20 and sheet material I0 passes under the guide roller 28, The sheet material Ill adheres to the drum 30 and the conveyor 20 passes over the guide roller 32 and back onto the supporting rollers 22 -as clearly shown in Fig. 1. At the end of the drying chamber 26 is a flash oven 3| which houses the heating elements 33. The flash oven 3| registers with the upper portion of the drum 30. 34 designates a housing which extends from the flash oven 3| and which encloses the major portion of the drum 30 and the cooperating pressure rollers 36. designates idle or supporting rollers, and 42 designates a vacuum; apertured take-off roll from which the sheet material is removed by the lifting bridges or fingers 44 onto the receiving table 46.

The operation is as follows:

After leaving the drum 12 the coated sheet material is passed through the drying chamber 26 where the volatile solvents of the coating composition are evaporated. To this end therate of travel, the length of the drying chamber, as well as the temperature therein, are all properly coordinated. When the volatile solvents are evaporated, the residue of the coating composition remains on th surface of the sheet material lll and the sheet material Ill now enters the flash oven 3! where much more intense heat is applied for a relatively short time so that the intense heat acting on the surface of the evaporated composition on the sheet material Ill serves to fuse the composition or the coating or at least the surface thereof. The sheet material l0 now reaches the vacuum transfer roller 24 where the suction created within the roller and acting through the foraminous conveyor 20 on the sheet material l0 compels the latter to conform to the contour or periphery of the roller 24 thus feeding the leading edge of the sheet material l0 between the roller 24 and the drum 30. The conveyor 20 and the sheet material H) then pass under the roller 28 after which the sheet material l0 adheres to the drum 30 while the conveyor 20 passes over the guide roller 32 and back onto the supporting rollers 22. The sheet material is now calendered and pressed between the drum 30 and the pressure rollers 36. It will be noted that the extension housing 34, extending downwardly from the flash oven 3| and enclosing the major portion of the drum 30 and the pressure rollers 36, serves to conserve the heat of the flash oven and retain the work pieces H1 at the desired temperature during the pressing operation between the drum 30 and the rollers 36. After passing the pressure rollers 36. the

sheet material ll travels between the drum a and the idle guide or support rollers 40 until it reaches the apertured, vacuum take-o1! roller 42 which acts in the same manner as the transfer roller 24. In other words, the suction created through the vacuum take-off roller 42 lifts the sheet material of! the drum 30 where it is engaged by the lifting fingers or bridges 44 which are carried by or positioned adjacent the workreceiving table 48. The drum 30 is supported by any suitable Journal or shaft 48. The rollers 40 are preferably made hollow as at 4| so as to receive a refrigerating medium such as ice water or the like for the purpose of chilling the work pieces Ill after they have emerged from between the last of the pressure rollers 38 and the drum 34. This cooling of the sheet material helps in peeling it off the drum 30 without any damage to the gloss imparted to it by the action of the flash oven and the pressure between the drum 30 and the rollers It In Fig. 2 we have shown substantially the same apparatus for the treatment of continuous sheet material. In this construction, instead of the feed table 8, the sheet material 50 which is in a continuous roll is fed from the feed roll 52 into any suitable coating machine. Since the sheet material is continuous, there is no need for the endless conveyor 20, and the sheet material travels directly over the guide rollers 22. Also, in lieu of the vacuum transfer roller 24 we now use an ordinary transfer roller 54 which deflects the sheet material to bring it into contact with the pressure drum 30 and subject it to the pressure of the rollers 36. Also, due to the fact that the sheet material 50 is continuous, there is no need for the guide rollers 40-unless it is desired to apply refrigeration. The sheet material 50 is wound directly from the drum 3!) onto the take-oil roll 56. The operation of the form of construction shown in Fig. 2, except for the minor differences in structure pointed out, is substantially the same as that described in connection with F18. 1.

It will thus be seen that in the construction shown in Fig. l the operation is substantially automatic and continuous and that in the construction shown in Fig. 2 the operation is entirely automatic and continuous. In connection with the construction in Fig. 1, any suitable feedously applying the desired composition, evaporating the solvents, fusing the surface of the residue and then subjecting the fused surface, while still at the desired temperature, to pressure between the polished surface of the drum 3. and rollers 38, with or without using refrigeration in the rollers 40. Also by making the flash oven 3| as an extension of the drying chamber 24 and by positioning the drum 30 and rollers 36 immediately under the flash oven and enclosing them with an extension 34 of the flash oven, great conductiveness is achieved and all loss of heat is prevented.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An apparatus for processing sheet material comprising a coating machine for applying the desired glazing compound to said sheet material, a drying chamber for evaporating the solvents of said compound, means for propelling said sheet material through said coating machine and said drying chamber, a flash oven at the end of said drying chamber for fusing the surface of the residue of said compound, a drum having a highly polished surface positioned at the discharge end of said flash oven, pressure rollers coacting with said drum, means for bringing the coated surface of said sheet material into contact with the polished surface of said drum and a housing extending from the flash oven and enclosing a portion of said drum and said pressure rollers.

ELLWOOD W. WOLF. ELBERT A. CORBIN, JR. 

